Combined distiller and cooker.



No. 642,6l6. Patented Feb. 6; |900.

. O. '0. LEE.

COMBINED DISTILLEB AND COOKER.

(Application filed Aug. 16, 1898.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT CEEICE.

CHARLES 0. LEE, OF SOUTH TACOMA, WASHINGTON.

COMBINED DISTILLER AND COOKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,616, dated February 6, 1900.

Application filed August 16, 1898. Serial No. 688,713. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES 0. LEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Tacoma, in the county of Pierce and State of WVashington, have invented a new and useful Combined Distiller and Cooker, of which the following is a specification.

7 range the parts for. cooking.

The invention relates to combined distillers and cookers.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of distillers and steamcookers and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one adapted'for distilling water and cooking vegetables, cereals, and the like and capable of effectually destroying any germ-life contained in water or the food cooked.

A further object of the invention is to enable the device to be readily arranged for either distilling or cooking.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a device constructed in accordance with this invention and arranged for distilling water. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a similar View, the dome and the removable section being detached to ar- Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view, on a reduced scale, of the removable section and dome which form the upper cold-water compartment. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view illustrating the construction for permitting the discharge of the distilled water.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlngs.

1 designates a cylindrical casing preferably constructed of sheet metal and provided near its bottom with a horizontal partition 2, dividing its extreme body portion into a waterreceiving compartment or reservoir, which is supplied with water through an orifice 3,10- cated near the bottom of the casing, and the latter is provided with an eXteriorly-arranged filling tube or funnel 4, tapering toward its lower end to provide an enlarged mouth. The water is filled to a higher level than the orifice, so that it will stand within the filling tube or funnel, and should it fall below the top of the orifice steam will escape from the filling tube or funnel and indicate that the device requires refilling.

The casing is provided at a point above the reservoir with a horizontal partition 5, and the space between the partitions 2 and 5 constitutes a hot-air chamber and communicates with the outside air by means of an air-inlet opening 6, arranged at one side of the casing. The reservoir is connected with the space above the hot-air chamber by a centrally-arranged vertical tube 7, extending through registering openings of the partitions and adapted to permit the passage of steam to the cooking or condensing chamber or compartment 8. The upper end of the vertical tube 7 projects above the horizontal partition 5 to prevent any condensed vapor from flowing back through the central tube into the reservoir. The device is provided at opposite sides of the central tube 7 with short air-tubes 8, extending through the partition 5 and forming passages for hot air, which rises through the said tubes and aerates the contents of the chamber 8. The tube 7 is permanently secured to the partitions 2 and 5, so that they may be removable for the purpose of cleansing them. The interior of the casing is preferably provided with suitable stops or shouldersas, for instance, annular beadsin position to support the partitions, although it is evident that the partitions could be permanently secured to the casing in any desired manneras, for instance, by soldering them. Ordinarily the partition 2 can be sprung to slip past the upper bead; but the partition 5 is preferably slightly concaved before it is inserted, so that it will firmly rest upon the upper bead and will hold the food that is placed upon it for the purpose of cooking.

The casing when the parts are arranged for steam-cooking, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings, has its top closed by a cover 10, and the parts hereinafter described for forming the cold-water chamber are removed; but when it is arranged for distilling water, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, an inner cylindrical section 11 is employed. The section 11, which fits within the upper partition 5.

end of the casing, is provided with an inner conical shell or lining 12, having its lower edges united with the section 11 at a short distance above the lower edges thereof and forming a dome for the compartment 8. The cone also forms an upper cold-water com partment 13, and when this compartment is filled with cold water the conical dome is adapted to condense the steam which impinges against it, and the condensed vapor or distilled water collects on the partition 5 and escapes through a discharge spout or pipe 14:, extending from one side of the casing and having its inner end arranged in the same plane as the The lower edges of the section 11 rest upon the partition 5, and the said section 11 is provided at the discharge spout or pipe 14 with a cut-away portion or opening 11 to permit the water to escape from the device. The cover 10 fits the section 11, and in order to facilitate handling the latter the inner conical shell is provided with a handle or ring 15. As the shell is secured at its bottom to the lining, it is evident that by means of the handle the shell and lining can be removed together.

The invention has the following advantages: The device, which is adapted to be placed on a stove, occupies only one of the holes of the stove, and it may be readily arranged for distilling water or for cooking vegetables, cereals, and the like. The compartment 8, which constitutes a steaming and condensing chamber, is adapted to receive a wire basket or other suitable receptacle for containing the vegetables or cereals to be cooked.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed is- 1. A device of the class described comprising a casing, horizontal partitions 2 and 5 arranged within the casing and dividing the same into an upper steam-chamber, a lower reservoir, and an intermediate hot-airchamher, said hot-air chamber being provided with an air-inlet, a tube extending through the partitions and projecting slightly above the upper one, short tubes rising from the upper partition, and a discharge-spout extending from the casing and arranged at the upper partition, substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described comprising a casing, upper and lower horizontal partitions dividing the easing into an upper steam-chamber, a lower reservoir and an intermediate hot-air chamber, a tube extending from the reservoir to the steam-chamber, a spout leading from the latter, a removable inner section arranged on the casing and provided with an inner conical shell constituting a dome and forming a cold-water compartment, and a cover adapted to fit the upper section and the casing, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aifixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES 0. LEE.

Witnesses:

H. C. CROSBY, L. M. GLIDDEN. 

